Foam tiles, rubber rolls, and stall mats — what survives.
The home-gym standard: 3/4" vulcanized rubber stall mats that survive dropped barbells.
Interlocking EVA-foam tiles for light home-gym zones and equipment protection.
Dense recycled-rubber rolled flooring for serious lifting platforms.
For lifting, 3/4" rubber horse stall mats are the durable, affordable standard. Foam puzzle tiles are fine for stretching and bodyweight zones but dent under heavy equipment.
3/4" rubber matting absorbs most barbell drops and protects the subfloor and your plates. Thin foam will not — use dense rubber under any platform where you drop loaded bars.